Team India lost the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1, due to which both the Indian star batters, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, are getting a lot of backlash for their performance. Both the players have been facing a lot of criticism due to their poor form with the bat, despite Virat scoring a century in Perth.
After India lost the Sydney Test to Australia on Sunday, their dreams of making it to the World Test Championship (WTC) final have vanished. The Aussies made it to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after almost a decade now.
Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh backed the Indian star players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli amid criticism, stating that people have forgotten what they did in the past. He also stated them as one of the greatest cricketers of this time and showed faith in them that they will bounce back soon.
"I look at what India has achieved in the last 5-6 years. They have achieved two back-to-back victories in Australia. I don't remember any team doing that. People are criticizing Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli a lot, but people forget what they have achieved in the past. They are two of the greatest cricketers of this time. It's ok they lost; they are more hurt than us. I am sure India will bounce back. Gautam Gambhir as coach, Ajit Agarkar as selector, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah—they are the best minds in cricket right now. And they have to decide what the future of Indian cricket is. I am sure this will be discussed with BCCI and Jay Shah and taken into consideration that what is the best way for India to move forward."
When Yuvraj was asked about Rohit's decision to opt him out in the Sydney Test, he said that he hadn't seen any captain doing this. He stated that Rohit is a great captain whether he loses or wins.
According to Yuvraj, the thing that should hurt was the whitewash against New Zealand at home. Losing at home is not acceptable; it's ok to lose in Australia after winning twice, and they have been a dominant side for many years.
"It's a big thing. I have not seen in the past that a captain is out of form, and he opted out of the playing XI. It is the greatness of Rohit Sharma that he kept the team ahead of himself. He's a great captain; whether he wins or loses, he will always be a great captain. In his captaincy, we played the World Cup (ODI) final, we won the T20 World Cup, and we achieved a lot. More than the defeat in Australia, the loss in New Zealand should hurt us more because we lost 0-3 at home. This is not acceptable. It's fine we lost in Australia after winning twice. Australia has been a dominant side for so many years."
Australia won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 after almost a decade, making their spot in the WTC final with South Africa, which will be held in June at Lord's.